Lucian,
Thanks for the details about the road. Those conditions seem about the same as it has been the last several years. I have a Subaru outback, but I’m not always confident on that country roads with ruts. My best bet will be to recruit a friend with a high clearance vehicle or ask if Audubon is organizing a field trip up there this year.
Thanks again for your reply to my inquiry.
Diann Stone
Boise Depot Bench
Hi Diane!
I’m a songbird bander at the station. The road is pretty rough, but doable with a 4WD/AWD (4 wheel better than all wheel though) and high clearance vehicle. For reference, most Subarus can make it up but I wouldn’t take anything much smaller. There are quite a few “water bars” (think large dirt speed bumps), deep ruts, some rocky spots and some washboard. It usually takes around 30 minutes to drive, maybe a bit longer if it’s your first time up in a while. If you’d like to stay the night for owls you can sign up for that on our website:
-Lucian
Interestingly just after I read this, a friend of mine in Homedale sent me this photo of a White-breasted Nuthatch asking me “What is this bird” Linda Wentz
It’s great to know about the surprise birds, entertaining to read about.
I haven’t been up to the banding site for several years, partly because of reportedly bad road conditions. How is the road at this time? I’d sure like to make it up there for raptor watch and maybe owling time.
Thanks for your ongoing research and communication with the public.
Diann Stone
Boise Depot Benchtr
I have RBNU and WBNU plus mountain and black-capped chickadees emptying my feeders in Donnelly daily. Haven’t had a pygmy visitor yet to my knowledge.
Dean Jones
Donnelly/Boise
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy Tablet
Howdy Folks
At our fall migration study site in the Boise Foothills (
http://ibo.boisestate.edu/visit/)
, we’re seeing LOADS of nuthatches and have been since we began in July. Red-breasted & White-breasted are annual but in variable #s and this year is definitely among the best in 25+ years for both … more noteworthy is that we’ve been observing way more Pygmy Nuthatches than in any previous year (observed on probably 90+% of days since mid July) and I saw at least 4 together yesterday.
Then, 2 Chestnut-backed Chickadees joined the crowd yesterday in the forest right near our banding yurt – and we just heard them again today. This is a species we detect roughly every 3-4 years, sometimes a single bird in a season & other times in more #s.
Might be as good a year as any to find a Pygmy Nuthatch (already multiple sightings in the Treasure Valley) or Chestnut-backed in Boise or nearby 🤞🤞
Just found near frisbee golf net #5.
Have recording but no pic yet. Disappeared 10 minutes ago and have not relocated.
Fanned long tail, considerable yellow in base of tail and in front of wing, all gray head.
Short dark bill and long primary projection = Hammond’s
Flycatcher.
Cliff
On 9/11/23 11:28AM, Robert Kiernan
wrote:
Gray or what??
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Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@...
Home of Idaho Birding and the Idaho Bird Records Committee
